Air Jordan
IX (9)
Head Designer: Tinker Hatfield
On October 6th 1993, Jordan gave the basketball
world a shock when he announced his retirement
from the NBA. This was just one day before
Training Camp and it was not what anyone
had expected at this time. The greatest
basketball player of all time retiring
at the age of 30. A decision probably
affected by the fact that his father was
murdered in North Carolina in the summer
of 1993.
Multilingual
The shoe being released was plain and
sturdy and was the first model that Michael
did not wear in an NBA seasonal game (due
to the retirement). The sole had lots
of details and a large 23 was stiched
at the back of the shoe.
There were also words in different languages
on the soles of the shoes, this is what
is said;
Right shoe:
dØdiØ (french) - dedicated
fuerza (spanish) - force
intenso (italian) - intense
libertØ (french) - freedom
anmutig (german) - graceful
Left shoe:
спорт (russian)
- sport
uhuru (swahili) - independence
свобода
(russian) - freedom
athletisch (german) - athletic
muundaji (swahili) - ?????
There are also two Japanese words that
reads "world" and "sport".
Cleated air
As Michael had placed the basketball on
the curb he decided to take on the game
of baseball. A special cleated version
of the IX's was made and helped him in
his Birmingham Barons baseball career.
The Air Jordan's had not disappeared from
the courts though. Known as player samples
there were Air Jordan IX's being produced
with not only #23 on the back, but with
individual numbers for players such as
Kendall Gill (#13), and Mitch Richmond
(#2).
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